Monday, September 17, 2018

It was 4:30am, and I couldn't sleep. Hurricane Florence was bearing down on us, and I needed something to distract me. I picked up my phone from the beside table, and launched the Cashback Research mobile app. I navigated to my Daily Survey page.

I found my distraction the form of a fascinating survey about a new, potential financial product from Charles Schwab. The product would produce a steady income during retirement. They wanted to know what description of the product resonated best for me. I read at least five different descriptions, and answered dozens of followup questions. It was like a reading comprehension test from Middle School. Also, they were toying with different names, and they wanted to know which name worked best for me. (They even asked me to suggest a name!) They wanted to know what features of the product were most important to me. Twenty minutes later when it over, I was $11 richer. Wow!

This was survey-taking at its best; it's why I founded Cashback Research. I was very proud of our mobile app for matching me with this survey. I earned a fair payment for my time, learned about a potential new product and even got to contribute in how it is designed and marketed.

And as if that wasn't enough, I was able to go back to sleep.

Michael H. is the founder of Cashback Research, a leading supplier of paid survey respondents for market research.

Friday, September 7, 2018

So you want to earn cash online by taking surveys online. But you don't like sharing personal information. Does that mean you you are stuck?

Absolutely not. The very tenets of market research dictate that the data collected is not connected to any particular individual. It's like a big jar into which your answers are thrown. Your answers are in there, but there is no way to associate those answers to you. You remain anonymous.

So why does Cashback Research collect the information that it does?

When you sign up to Cashback Research, you are asked basic questions about yourself - Name, Date of Birth, Address and Gender. We use it to find surveys for which you are eligible. If you think it's hard to complete a survey on our daily dashboard, imagine if you had to wade through surveys that were for the opposite gender, or teenagers-only or retirees-only or pregnant woman only, and so on. You'd waste hours on surveys for which you are ineligible.

Using the basic information we collect on you, our survey search engine is able to go to our market research providers and build a daily survey page for you that is filled only with surveys that can earn you free cash right away. And that's really all there is to it.

If you take our profile surveys, which are optional, then we learn more about your interests, education and health. This allows us to refine our search for surveys, but it is optional and only for your benefit. We don't share any of this information.

The trouble is: Some websites do. How can you spot a site that shares your information?

For one thing, you need to know that the site is secure. The web address should begin: https, not http. "S" is for "Secure."

But even a secure site can share information deliberately. It's all contained in the privacy policy of any website. It's usually a little link by the signup form and on the footer of most pages. The trouble is, these policies can be littered with legalese. So here's a trick.

How to determine if your personal information will be safe - or shared with others:

Navigate to the privacy policy page.

Hit CNTL-F to pull up the search function. (F is for Find)

Search for "third-party." There will probably be several results.

Read through each of reference. If you see language that says, "We occassionally share information with third-parties..." then you have your answer. Your information will leave their servers and go to outsiders, generally advertisers.

Repeat Step 3 with the word "share" and again evaluate the references.

I invite you to read our privacy policy here. If you any questions, please let us know.
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Michael H. is the founder of Cashback Research, a leading supplier of paid survey respondents for market research.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

In 12 years operating Cashback Research, with over 10 million members worldwide, we have never had a single member win a sweepstakes. Not one.

I repeat: Not one winner.

If you are using our daily surveys app (android - desktop) to earn cash rewards, then you are probably earning LOTS of sweepstakes entries. I know I am. Instead of giving you the bad news that you were not accepted into a survey, you are congratulated on your Sweepstakes Entry.

Oh, brother.

In a typical day of survey-taking, I get rejected 4 times out of 5, which means that on my quest to complete at least two surveys per day, I am earning almost 3,000 sweepstake entries per year.

I simply ignore these, and I suggest that you do too. Cashback Research is all about how to earn cash online for free. "Earn." Not "win." I built it for that purpose, and it works for that end. Sweepstakes are a distraction, a way of letting you down gently when you are rejected from a survey. But what these market researchers don't know is that we understand that rejection is part of the process. And whether you are a work-at-home mom trying to earn extra cash or a student who needs free money fast, you know you have been earning legit cash online at Cashback Research. So you press on - with or without a sweepstakes entry.

I hope one day to write a blog about one of our members winning big in a sweepstakes. But until then, the math speaks for itself. 12 years. 10 million+ members. Zero winners.
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Michael H. is the founder of Cashback Research, a leading supplier of paid survey respondents for market research.

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Yes! You will always earn more money taking surveys online on the first of any month. Surveys budgets are added on the start of each month, so the first of the month is always the best day. Today, for example, I had an incredible run, going four for four on surveys. I earned $11.80 which took me well above the threshold for my next $30 payout! I haven't had a day like since, well, this time last month.

So how does this work behind the scenes? Each market research project comes with budgets for individual segments with a demographic filter overlay. A typical research panel budget may look like this:

55+: 200
46-55: 400
36-45: 400
21-35: 400

Males: 60%
Females: 40%

White/Caucasian: 25%
African American: 10%
Hispanic: 10%
Other: 55%

These budgets get uploaded at the start of the month. As segments fill over the course of the month the survey itself pays out less and less frequently until by the end only a very select group is even potentially able to qualify. At Cashback Research we use technology to determine what segments are still left BEFORE we invite you to a survey, which saves you time and increases your odds considerably. But still, the start of the month is the time when there is the most budget for the widest number of surveys.

We don't suggest that you only take surveys one day a month, but if there's one day you do not want to miss, then it's the first of the month.

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About Me

I founded Cashback Research in 2007 to bring together market research companies with people willing to take surveys in exchange for cash rewards. Since then we have paid out over a half-million dollars in cash rewards to users.